Quest Diagnostics Announces C9orf72 Genetic Test for ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) The company's Athena Diagnostics business unit to unveil the new test at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting this week in New Orleans MADISON, N.J. and WORCESTER, Mass., April 25, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Quest Diagnostics DGX +1.89% , the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, today announced a new genetic testing service from its Athena Diagnostics business unit, a leader in neurology diagnostics, for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. It is the first clinically available testing service for detecting hexanucleotide repeat expansion in the C9orf72 gene. Research published in the April 2012 issue of The Lancet found that this C9orf72 mutation was present in up to 39% of familial (inherited) ALS cases examined, and between 4-8% in sporadic (no known family history) cases, in a multi-national study population. The test is offered to aid in the diagnosis of familial and sporadic ALS.